Israeli singer Noam Bettan will be the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2026, which will be held in Vienna in May, after winning the final of Keshet 12’s "HaKokhav HaBa" (Rising Star) on Tuesday evening.
Bettan will perform in the first semifinal of the contest, scheduled for May 12, and will appear in the second half of the show.
In the first semifinal, Israel will compete alongside Georgia, Portugal, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Moldova, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, San Marino, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania, and Serbia.
Bettan, 27, from Ramat HaSharon, was born to a family of Olim from France and grew up in Ra’anana. He is a singer and songwriter, a French speaker, who began his musical career about eight years ago. Since then, he has released albums and singles that topped radio charts and achieved major success on streaming platforms as well.
In his first response after winning, the singer said: “I’m so excited. What an incredible privilege to represent the country and be the voice of our people on this huge stage. Thank you for your trust and love, thank you for choosing me. I promise to give my all at the upcoming Eurovision in Austria."
Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar commented: “Congratulations to Noam Bettan. We look forward to seeing you at Eurovision, proudly representing the country and bringing the Israeli spirit to center stage. Europe, Israel is coming to win."
Israel’s participation in this year’s contest was in question but was made possible after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) cleared it to compete, prompting withdrawals by Iceland, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia.
A growing number of countries had threatened to boycott the 70th edition of Eurovision unless Israel is excluded due to the war in Gaza.
Austria is hosting this year’s contest in Vienna after Austrian artist JJ won in Basel last year. He later called for Israel to be suspended from Eurovision, though he ultimately walked back those comments.